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Just Make Your Life Simpler

Simplify & Focus.

Have you ever bought a new computer with such complicated new features that you couldn’t get it to work? Complexity is a problem in our modern world because humans, like all life on the planet, prefer simplicity. Nature doesn’t choose the most complicated way to solve a problem. Rather, it finds the simplest way. In fact, it’s often the simplest species that are the most successful. Given a choice between a complex or simple way to reach a goal, people will most likely choose the simplest option. Companies that understand this make their products as simple as possible, e.g. Apple with the minimalistic decor of their shops that greet you as you enter. Your options (to buy or repair something) are clearly demarcated.

Practice Honesty.

Know what your priorities are. Know what you want from interactions. Fight for your values and feelings. Say what needs to be said not being offensive but defending your rights and opinions even if that doesn’t pleases the listener. What if I speak up and my boss doesn’t like my answer? What if I go talk to that girl and she doesn’t like me? This stops people from expressing who they really are and speaking up and standing up for themselves. The thing you have to understand is that the repercussions are not so bad. If your boss doesn’t like you, fine, move on, if the girl doesn’t like you, better that way than spending weeks wondering or worrying about what if scenarios.

Your Time. Value It.

Sucessfull people are really strict about how they spend time. They don’t waste time watching netflix, youtube videos. They’re out there making their dream happen. Grinditng. Do you REALLY want that thing to happen or do you just kinda want it to?

Excellence is an Habit.

Be a creature of great habits. Start with key habits. Those that influence other areas of your life such as making your bed, eating, exercising, meditating and relaxed thinking, vizualizing, planning, journalling.

Doing the Right Things >> Doing Things Efficiently.

Stop and think first. Analyze the project you’re thinking about before going all in with it, and mindlessly being busy doing things very well, without thinking if you really should be doing them in the first place. 80-20. Do the things that have the highest return.

Be Quick to Implement What You Learned.

When you learned something, look for ways to implement it and do it. Not only does it solidify the memories but it propels you forward so that you can move to the next step.

Motivate Yourself. Visualize.

Everyday remind yourself about the things that motivate you. Use pictures that elicit an emotional response from you. See them everyday. Clearly visualize your path and arrival, and possible contingencies.

Know What Is Normal. Now Do Something Else.

Run from normal and average. You’re going to lose interest in mainstream topics. You won’t be interested in the latest movie or reality TV show. You may have one mainstream interest but the vast majority of the things you see on TV are going to come across as cheesy or ridiculous. If all you do is normal, all you’re going to get are mediocre results.

10% Reading 90% Implementation.

Information overload is legitimate and it is taking place all over the world. Stop reading junk you don’t need. Don’t read a post on how to take a company public if you don’t even have a business. Don’t ask about “hiring a sales team” if you haven’t even sold 10,000 units. You’re wasting time. Mental masturbation. What is it that you are actually *doing*. And why are you doing it? Is it going to get you to where you need to be in a year? 5 years? A decade? If you don’t build your own pyramid, you’re building someone else’s. A Zen master once said “Yes, you can achieve what you want, just stop thinking so much about it!”

Progress Everyday.

Never confuse yourself by visions of an entire lifetime at once… remember that it is not the weight of the future or the past that is pressing upon you, but always that of the present alone. Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. “Nothing is particularly hard if you break it into small enough pieces”.

Eat Healthy, Exercise, Meditate.

Cruciferous: Arugula, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, radish, turnip, watercress. Fast once-twice a week. 40min. of intense workout 2-3x / week. Fidget, minimize immobilized time. Take frequent short breaks. HIIT when healthy. Insomnia is the mind’s revenge for something extremely important that we forgot to do during the day: think. Direction, purpose, values, relaxed meditative thinking. Philosophy wants us to lead an examined self-aware life. This is a basic necessity of every human life.

Get Used to Feeling Uncomfortable.

Ask more. You’ll get a lot of NOs. But many suprising YES. Practice some sort of stoicism. If I go a day without failing at something, I consider it a waste of a day. I will always be a failure because I learned a hard lesson early in life. Always take action. Always maximize your potential. The only way to do this, is to fail, fail harder and accept each failure for what it is… A learning experience.

Health --> Money --> Friends/Relationships

This order is 100% true. You can only make money and have friends if you are healthy. If you have a lot of money… you have time to make more friends and establish relationships. On the flip side… If your health declines rapidly… You will likely lose both money and friends. Your money goes to fixing your health and your relationships falter as people are *busy* and the world does not revolve around you. Period.

Work like hell. Generally speaking, the path with the least amount of suffering is the wrong decision. This law becomes more fluid as you get older since you’re no longer building your life, BUT when you are young if you choose the easier path you are likely giving up decades of your life. This is not an exaggeration. The last thing you want to do is tell someone a decade older than you that you “were not willing to work hard”. This will be a nail in the coffin. We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse.

No Excuses.

Most postponements are excuses for a lack of discipline. Limited money and family obligations have never stopped a person who really wanted to do something, although they provide excuses for a person who is not really up to the challenge in the first place. Excuses never made anyone rich, and we all have them. Stop being like everyone and start taking action. Unsuccessful people suffer a mind-deadening thought disease. We call this disease excusitis. Every failure has this disease in its advanced form. And most ‘average people have at least a mild case of it.

Write Your Thoughts and Thought Process.

Having your thoughts externalized makes it much easier to analyze them. You stop having to juggle them along with the analysis itself in your working memory, allowing more space for better analysis and new thoughts and further progress.